Mika Negishi Laidlaw

Mika Negishi Laidlaw Biography
College of Arts and Humanities, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Mika Negishi Laidlaw is the Professor of Art – Ceramics at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has been selected for a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists twice. She is also the recipient of many other awards, fellowships, and grants, used toward her exploration in the ceramic arts.
Mika was born and raised in Kobe, Japan, and has worked in her native country as well as the United States. Her breathtaking art has been exhibited in Japan, the United States, Korea, Taiwan, Guam and Spain. She holds her B.A. in Studio Art and her M.F.A in Ceramics.

Mika Laidlaw’s professional and artistic goal is to create the best work of her career toward the end of her creative life. Toward that end, Mika strives to change and evolve through her art, embarking on new projects whenever she can. Her recent work developed from the ideas of unconditional love and the memories that our cells may possess. It relates to treasured memories of her grandfather and grandmother, as well as her new role as a mother. Her creative motivations are highly personal, but she tries to send a more universal message to the viewers of her art.
Currently, Mika Laidlaw is working on a collaborative project with a film artist, using ceramic objects as screens to project images onto, as well as using ceramic objects as sound chambers.

“A film artist I respect approached me about our collaboration. We had a series of discussions and brainstorming sessions to grow our project. The whole collaborative process has been the source of inspiration.”

Mika lives in Minnesota with her husband and two small children.
For more about Mika Negishi Laidlaw’s art and life, please follow this link: http://mikanegishilaidlaw.com